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(No Model.) 7 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. ROBINSON.

ELEGTRIG TELEGRAPH APPARATUS. No. 469,273. Patented Feb. 23, 1892.

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J. ROBINSON. ELEGTRIG TELEGRAPH APPARATUS.

No. 469,273; Patented Feb. 23, 1892.

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ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS.

No. 469,273. Patented Feb. 23, 1892.

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l J. ROBINSON.

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS. No. 469,273. Patented Feb. 23,1892.

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UNITED STATES JOSEPH ROBINSON, 0

PATENT OFFICE.

F LONDON, ENGLAND.

ELECTRlC-TELEG RAPH APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,273, dated February 23, 1892.

Application filed January 21, 1891. Serial No. 378,588. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JosEPH ROBINSON, residing at London, England, have invented an Improvement in Electric-Telegraph Apparatus to Transmit Visible Pointer-lndications Corresponding to the Movement of aTransmitting-Handle, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to telegraphic apparatus by which the movements of a transmitting-handle indicating orders or other communications from the transmitter may visibly be reproduced by the duplicate movement of a pointer corresponding to that of the transmitting-handle.

My improvements consist, mainly, in the utilization of the movement of the transmitting-handle to automatically unlock the device and to produce a mechanical tension in a spiral spring, the reaction of the said spring causing the revolution of a train of wheels and flier and by its motion causing an electrical contact to be formed in one of three alternative directions, according to the direction of movement of the transmitter-handle, permitting the passage of a current rendered intermittent by a commutator to a receivinginstrument consisting of three pairs of electro-magnets provided with spring-armatures, the oscillating movement of which is communicated by a roller at the extremity of each armature to a star-wheel operating an indicating-finger by suitable gearing until the action of the spring mechanism is satisfied and locked, when the indicator coincides with the position of the transmitter-handle.

In order that my invention may be the better understood, I now proceed to describe the same in relation to the drawings hereunto annexed, reference being had to the letters marked thereon.

Like letters refer to like parts in the various figures.

Figure 1 is a back elevation of my transmitting mechanism mounted on a dial-plate. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a detached wheel.

elevation and transverse section, respectively, of the automatic regulating-flier. Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged transverse section and part outside elevation, respectively, of the springdrum-locking mechanism. Figs. 9 and 10 are an outside elevation and plan, respectively, of the recording mechanism. Fig. 11 is a back elevation of the indicator-pointer mechanism. Fig. 12 is a diagrammatical view of the electrieal circuits b etween my transmitting and recording mechanisms.

The transmitter-handle A is mounted so as to be capable of rotation around a circular order-plate B, marked with the necessary orders to be communicated, which may be any number required, each position of the transmitter-handle being marked by a hole 6, into which a spring-pin a falls when the transmitter-handle is placed at rest. This catch or pin (L is operated by an auxiliary spring-lever a on the handle of the transmitter-lever A and is released by the action of the grip of the hand. The axis of the said transmitterhandle A, passing'through the order-plate B, is attached to a disk 0, carrying a pin 0, (shown in detail at Fig. 4,) which presses against an arm or finger (1, attached to one end and coiling up a spiral spring D about the axis of the said disk. The other end of this spring is attached to a similar arm or finger about the axis of the first-motion driving-wheel E of the train of gearing, by which latter motion is transmitted to a flier F (shown in detail at Fig. 5) and to a commutator G, by which the electrical current is transmitted to one or other of the three pairs of electromagnets on the recorder (see Fig. 9') to produce their desired successive operations, rotating the recording-indicator pointer. WVhen the apparatus is atrest, the finger cl of the transmitter-lever disk lies between the aforesaid arms or fingers (Z and cl, attached to either end of the spiral spring D upon the axis of the first-motion driving-Wheel and pressing in opposite directions upon one of ing-wheel. The lever-disk pin 0 coincides in position when the apparatus is at rest with this pillar d of the main driving-wheel, and the two arms or fingers d and cl at either eX- tremity of the spiral spring, thus in normal the pillars d (see Fig. 7 of the main driv-- position at rest, press against one another ,with a normal set or tension, which isthus more has come back to its normal position co-' incident with the driving-pin c as in the normal position of the mechanism at rest. It the transmitter-handle A be moved sharply, the elasticity of the handle-spring and the control of the gearing by the flier F (more particularly hereinafter described) cause the first-motion wheel, thetrain of gearing, and recording-tinger, by its mechanism, as shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11, (hereinafterto be more fullydescribed) .to follow the transmitter-handle with a fairly uniform and graduated motion.

I prefer to use a flier of special construction, (shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6,) which causes it to be a better regulator for uniformity than the usual flier with fixed vanes. In my improved flier the vanes F are caused by the tension of a spring f upon the axis or by weights to lie normally close to the spindle, as shown in dotted lines, Fig.6, and the centrifugal force of theflier-vanes, when rotated, causes them to gradually extend against the reaction of the spiral spring f into a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation as the speed of the flier tends to increase, and=thus causes a greater area offering resistance to the rotation of the flier, as well as a larger air The commutator is divided in its length into fourseparate rings insulated from their axis of support and the rings upon which the brushes g g g rub being insulated from on e another connected with the brush 9 by its ring, and

the other four parts being non-conducting surfaces. The conducting-surfaces of each ring are arrangedin a position sixty degrees in advance relatively to the ring adjacent to it. Thus the surfaces are arranged spirally tery.

around the commutator. The brushes gg' g g are all insulated from one another and from the frame'upon which they are fixed. The four wires .from the binding -screws (shown in Fig. 2) of the transmitting-instrument are connected to the four wires of the recording-instrument, (shown in Fig. 9,) respectively.

The general arrangements of the circuits are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 12, where the electro-magnets H H H' are shown connected each one respectively to the commutators g g" g and the corresponding commutator-contacts are thus only temporarily and successively closed, thus producing alternate and momentary magnetic action upon armatures K I K of the said electro-magnets successively in either direction of successive action, according to the direction of rotation of the said commutator G, which obeys and corresponds with the action of the transmitter-lever. The main current from a battery L or other suitable source of electric current is madethrough a set-screw m and a spring m, which is opened or closed by the movement of the locking-lever M, operated .as hereinafter described. The three electromagnets H H" H are connected to a common return h, which leads back to the bat- The intermittent successive action of the electro-maguets H II II in either direction, according to that of the transmitterhandle A and the consequent oscillating movement of the respective armatu res K I K operated by the rollerpins 76, attached to the said pivoted armatures upon a star-shaped wheel P, produces a step-by-step-rotation of that wheel in either direction,accordin g to that in which the successive action of the electromagnets takes place. The relative placing of the electro-magnets and the pins 7c of their osvcillating armatures K K K with regard to the number of points of the star-wheel-and to their respective position to one another is important and is such-that when one armature is drawn down and the roller-pin and armature are accordingly depressed, to the bottom of the gap between two points of the star- .gear I find to be, when two armatures are arranged to act on opposite sides of the starwheel, are parallel to one another, and the .third at right angles to the other two, there being in such case seven points to the starwheel. Upon the axis of the said star-wheel P, which by multiple gearing Q, Fig. 11, operates the recording-finger R, (see Fig. 11,) I place another triangularly toothed wheel q,upon

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aeaere s which rests a spring-pressed roller q, so as to form a spring-pressed brake when lying exactly between two triangular points, so as to hold the said axis in any position until mechanically moved out of its position by the aforesaid mechanism. In conjunction with the train of wheels as aforesaid I fit a springpressed locking-lever M, pressed by the spring m, which also forms the metallic conductor for the main circuit when pressed up against the set-screw m. lVhen the transmitter-handle A has been accurately placed in any particular predetermined position to define an order, this lever locks the mechanism and stops the aforesaid flier F by two pivoted jaws N, allowing a pawl n to enter between them, but to be locked there until the lockinglever is released by a fresh movement of the transmitter-handle.

The mechanism is as follows: Under the transmitter-handle disk O, Figs. 7 and 8, is placed a bell-crank lever S, which when the apparatus is at rest normally engages in a recess s in the ring e, supported by pillars (1 upon the first-motion driving-wheel E. The other end of the lever, provided with a pin S, is thus depressed, as shown in Fig. 7. When the transmitter-handle and disk 0 are moved, the end of the bell-crank lever S, engaged in the recess or niche of the ring 6; attached to the first-motion wheel E, is carried out of the said niche or recess, so as to bear upon the inside face of the ring 6, and thus the pin end S is caused to raise the end of the jointed lever T from the face of the disk, and pivoted at 6 upon the frame. The end of this lever where it comes into contact with the locking-lever M is provided with a wedge face bearing againsta pin on the said locking-lever M, thus forcing up the end of the lever M, on which the spring m is lying, thus making electrical contact with the set-screw on, releasing a detent from the wheel t on the commutator and releasing'the flier-pawl n from the detaining-jaws N at the other end. The train of wheels is thus free to revolve both the commutator and the flier mechanism until by this rotation the first-motion driving-wheel E has brought back the niche or recess 5 in exact juxtaposition to the end of the bell-crank S, wherever that may have been placed by the operation of the transmitter-handle. The bell-crank S thus falls back into its normal position, as shown in Fig. 7, and allows the pivoted lever to fallback onto the face of the disk-wheel and thus once more to lock and engage both the commutator notched wheel t and the flier-pawl n.

I may, if desired, use an auxiliary lock upon the receiving or recording part of the instrument-say upon the disk fitted to the star-wheel axis. The engaging-bolt may be the core of a solenoid engaging by gravity and lifted out of locking by the action of the current fed to the electro-magnets H H" 11" being first passed round the said solenoid.

I willnow describe the path of the currents when the machine is operated in reference to Fig. 12. Then the transmitter-handle A is operated in one or other direction, the locking-lever M is moved and presses the springcontact at 'm, joining the circuit, at the same time unlocking the transmitting mechanism. It will be seen that current can now travel round through the electro-magnet H, operating its armature, because the brush 9 is in contact with a conducting-section of its ring, which latter is in contact with the brush 9 through its continuous ring. The mechanism starts, however, immediately it is unlocked, and as the brush g leaves its conducting-section, breaking the circuit to electro-magnet H, the brush g" enters upon one on its ring and completes the circuit of electro-magnet 1-1, and similarly with electro-magnet I-I. This rotative action continues until the lever M falls back into normal position by reason of the followingmechanism having followed the transmitting-handle and arrived at its normal stationary position in relation to it, when the gear controlling the lever M permits it to break the circuit and lock the mechanism and thus stop the rotation of the commutator. The successive order of operation of the three electroanagnets depends upon the direction in which the transmitting-handle is moved, thus, whether the order of making the contacts by the commutator is g g" g' or g' g g, one being'effected by the opposite rotation of the mechanism to the other.

That I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electric-telegraph transmitting and indicating apparatus, the combination of mechanism consisting of a transmitter handlever rotating round the center of an orderplate, a spiral spring about the axis of rotation, both ends of which meet with special set tension upon the frame of a first-motion wheel and also upon the d riving-pin of the said handlever, a train of wheels with controlling-flier and a triple-dru1n commutator driven by said first-motion driving-wheel, a constant-current closing device and locking-lever, three electromagnets with pivoted armatures on a recording-plate fed successively with intermittent currents from a constant current by the said rotated commutator and brushes rubbing thereon, a step-by-step recording mechanism consisting of a star-wheel rotated in either direction by successive intermittent action of said pivoted armatures, and pins attached thereto to operate a recording-pointer in a similar drection to and to the same extent as the motion of the order-transmitting handlever.

2. In an electric-telegraph transmitter, a train of wheels operated by a first-motion wheel followingbya spring-tension a transmitter-handle, in combination with a controllingflier constructed with vanes pivoted near the axis of the said flier, a spiral spring on the said axis, and a notched collar in the heels of said vanes folding them normally toward the axis, but permitting them to extend radinormally look the flier and commutator when ally outward against the spring reaction nnthe record is finished and the apparatus comes der the centrifugal force developed. by the to rest, substantially as set forth, speed of the flier, substantially as described. In testimonywhereoflhave signed my name 5 In an electric-telegraph transmitter, a to this specification in the presence of two sub- 15 bell-crank lever anda transmitter-lever disk, scribing witnesses.

in combination with a fixed pivoted lever op- JOSEPH ROBINSON. erated by the bell-crank lever and a locking- \Vitnesses: lever released by said pivoted lever when the RICHARD A. HOFFMANN,

1o apparatus is in movement and adapted to CHARLES H. CARTER. 

